Free Republic

The Sundance Film Festival kicked off on Thursday, 1-24-19, flooding the streets of Park City, UT with PIBs (People In Black) navigating snow covered Main Street in flip-flops, 9” heels and butt-hugger speedo skirts. Most of them rent cars and try to drive even though they’ve never seen snow anywhere other than the movies. And being Angelinos they are undaunted by the gridlock they create around town trying to maneuver the few roads around town. Locals know to stay home during “the Fest” except when absolutely necessary, like going skiing, and we always pack survival cakes for the trip, just...

Hey Hollywood Elite, # NeverTrumpers and Snowflakes United: are you boycotting the Inauguration? Need an “Inaugural Survival Guide?” Then I’ve got just the place for you; come to the Sundance Film Festival in Park City! I promise you’ll feel at home and will be entertained with all the politically correct and anti-American movies you can stomach. The inauguration of President-Elect Donald Trump is January 20, 2017 — which is also the first full day of the Sundance Film Festival. That’s already inspired multiple festival attendees to discuss how they might arrange marches or protests, and now the festival has gone...

What does it take for a film to be a huge hit at Sundance, nab a distribution deal, and get a nationwide theatrical release? Big Hollywood stars? Mass appeal? Expensive professional equipment? Short answer -- no! Director Sean Baker's feature film Tangerine, which got picked up by Magnolia Pictures, is one of the most talked-about films at the Festival this year even though it doesn't exactly fit the profile of a buzzworthy entry. Firstly, it features unknown actors; no Kristen Wiigs, no Ethan Hawkes. Secondly, it's a story about two transgender women on a Christmas Eve odyssey through the many...

Silky, straight hair has long been considered by many black women to be their crowning glory. So what if getting that look meant enduring the itchy burning that's a hallmark of many chemical straighteners. Or a pricey dependence on "creamy crack," as relaxers are sometimes jokingly called. Getting "good hair" often means transforming one's tightly coiled roots; but it is also more freighted, for many African-American women, and some men, than simply a choice about grooming. Straightening hair has been perceived as a way to be more acceptable to certain relatives, as well as to the white establishment. "If your...

At Sundance Film Festival... Many celebrities keep their kids out of the public eye to avoid the paparazzi and kidnappers. Not Rosie O'Donnell. O'Donnell said it was Madonna — her co-star in "A League of Their Own" — who explained to her why she appeared with her daughter Lourdes in public. Rosie, wife Kelli Carpenter O'Donnell and their two sons and two daughters will be on hand Tuesday for the world premiere of the documentary "All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise" at the Sundance Film Festival. Kelli, whom Rosie married in San Francisco in 2004, and Parker, 10; Chelsea, 8; Blake,...

When Robert Redford went to Cuba in 1988, he was interrogated by U.S. Treasury Dept. agents upon his return. After all, he was said to have gone scuba-diving with Fidel Castro. Now the actor is set to fly to Havana on Friday, after his Sundance Film Festival ends, to show his new movie, "The Motorcycle Diaries," to Che Guevara's widow, Aleida March. Redford is an executive producer of Walter Salles' film about Che's consciousness-raising nine-month motorcycle trip through South America as a 23-year-old medical student. The pic got a standing ovation Saturday at a fest screening in Park City, Utah....